SAMURAI

PROLOGUE

    A beautiful morning. The sun just woke after sleeping all night. The temperature was still cold from the wee morning. The wind rustled carrying grains of sand, rolling briefly to form a vortex, then disappearing away. Vultures flew high, flapping their wings.

    Nothing special on that morning except a tall sturdy stone wall standing in silence. Its structure was made of boulders. It challenged anyone to destroy it. From the middle of the swishing desert, the arrogance of the wall got an answer.

    A whoosh broke the silence. Mountain stones divided clouds. Initially in tens, then accelerating to thousands. Following one another, as if flocks of birds flying in an irregular formation. The sky turned dark. The morning sun's light could no longer penetrate thousands of rocks as big as buffalo’s head that moved fast. The thick wall surrounding the desert area screamed in terror. The impact on its body made a thundering sound, deafening the ear. The thick wall whimpered.

        "Change! Use fireballs! Use fireballs! Hurry up!" Hulagu Khan shouted. His spit sputtered against the side of a rock.

     The captains gave instructions, in turn, to carry out the General's orders.

    "Fireballs!"

    "Fireballs!" shouted artillery troops following orders.

    The artillery troops replaced the large stones with black lumps as big as adult human heads. By his mark, the General was like the conductor of an orchestra, his orders manipulating the tune of the song. Slicing flutes transformed into deadly drum blows.

    The whirring tore repeated. The sky once again changed color to smoldering dots. When the thousands of dots traveled the five hundred yards in the air and hit their targets, the fireballs burst into small blazing fragments, scorching whatever they touched.

    "Boom!" "Argghh!" 

    The sounds of burning wood mixed with screams. Screaming in pain mingled with the crash of collapsing buildings. Flames flared up, licking everything they could. Metallic splinters flickered, knocking down hundreds of bodies unprotected by armor. The smell of burning flesh was accompanied by howls of suffering. Cries uttered for their separated limbs, writhing around waiting for their Maker to send His angels to end their assignments.

    "Attack!"

    "Destroy it!"

    "Kill them all!"

    Like a flood, one hundred fifty thousand soldiers from various nations joined the Ilkhanat army of the Mongol empire breaking the fortress doors. The hails of victory overflowed with bloodthirsty lust. The defensive wall was destroyed. Tens of thousands of warriors were defeated like ants scattered in the wind. The Ilkhanat Mongol imperial forces partied in a pool of blood, tears, and the dignity of a torn nation.

     Three days after the unconditional surrender, the Ilkhanat Mongol troops invaded the city. It was the Beginning of m******e, r**e, and destruction of buildings, massive destruction. A dynasty built over hundreds of years was destroyed in less than a month. Thousands of documents and books were burned. Houses of worship and hospitals were destroyed. Historical buildings were demolished without a trace. There was nothing left of the splendor except the rubble and rising smoke.

       Men were killed mercilessly. Women were violated of their honor. Then, they were killed without mercy. Innocent little children were slaughtered. Body parts were scattered on the streets of the city. Rending pleas for mercy ignored.

    Two weeks after the m******e, the foul stench of unburied carcasses moved the Mongol troops to leave the city to find a way against the wind, leaving a deadly disease and the rest of the population to scavenge the remains of the destruction.

    I was part of the invading army. My eyes bear witness to all the destruction and suffering that had resulted from the conquest. At the age of sixteen years, for the first time, I took an innocent life. The soul of a woman whimpering for mercy ended in a prick of my sword. Ignoring her moans asking for forgiveness. That same day, the depravity of a young man was shed. The purity of a young woman, I snatched. Her cries for mercy I ignored. After everything ended, since then, the nightmares come to haunt me.

    Today, in a country separated only by a strait, I again smelled the scent of conquest and destruction. The great Khan was heartened to see the willingness of the authorities to accept his offer. Four warning letters and expedition groups were launched to persuade the country's rulers to accept Khan's offer to be part of the Mongol empire. 

    Instead of accepting the alliance, the country's military ruler, the shy young man who was forced to ascend to the throne to hold the power of his predecessor, completely ignored Khan's offer. He considered the power endowed to him was only for valor!

From the deck of the ship, I looked again at the coast of Hakata. The southernmost harbor of the Kamakura Shogunate's final defense was seen shrinking. Our expeditionary group left empty-handed. We would prepare ourselves. And, would return with destruction and suffering for this country. 

For my life that was already in the grip of hell, I was sure the strength of this country's warriors would not be able to withstand the onslaught of Ilkhanat's army. Millions of lives would be lost, thousands of women would be humiliated, thousands of children would be orphaned.

"Stupid Shogun!" I shouted.